Otter Paintings

Otters, sea otters in particular, are my favourite animal. All my life I have wanted to follow their lead, bridging worlds between the land, air and sea. When I paint an otter, I paint my desire to experience and share the underwater world they thrive in.

Canada has two otter species; the North American river otter, and the sea otter; and both can be in the sea which can make identification tricky. Only sea otters can live in the ocean full time however, and they are the most recent mammal to do so. Sea otters are entirely dependant on their thick coat to stay warm and they have no blubber like seals and whales. Lasting a lifetime in the water, far more than my 90 minutes in a wetsuit, sea otter fur is the densest of any animal and traps warm air against their skin. It’s their amazing fur that nearly wiped sea otters out as we hunted them near to extinction in the fur trade, however they are still around and slowly repopulating our shared Pacific Ocean.

Project Type

Nature Paintings

Building Name

Kris Friesen

Street Address

490 Sturdee Street, Esquimalt BC

Map